On Friday morning, the Cleveland City Planning Commission once again delayed voting on a demolition request for the Herold Building, a four-story structure on Prospect Avenue near East Fourth Street.

Commission members and the city's planning staff said they want one of two things: Specific plans showing what the property owner hopes to do with the site or a feasibility analysis illustrating that the historic building simply can't be saved.

The decision came after the L&R Group of Companies, which owns the building and a small parking lot next door, showed renderings ranging from a single-story retail project to a six-story building on the 0.19-acre site. Two weeks ago, L&R's initial designs -- for a single-story retail building topped by digital billboards -- met with strong resistance from a pair of city boards, other property owners and nearby residents.

Now L&R, in a quest for a demolition permit, is pitching an array of concepts. Renderings from Richard L. Bowen + Associates, a Cleveland architecture firm, show one or two floors of retail, with possible housing or offices on top.

Based in California, L&R is a major parking owner with a sister business focused on retail. The company has no interest in exploring other uses or constructing a taller building on the Prospect site. But a company representative said this week that L&R would consider selling air rights -- the rights to develop certain space above a building -- to someone else. The ultimate design of any project will depend on tenant demand, said David Dix, who handles government relations for the L&R family of businesses.

Bob Brown, the city's planning director, said his department hasn't seen a full exploration of whether L&R could restore the Herold Building and construct something new next to it, using tax credits for historic preservation. That's the strategy being promoted by the Historic Gateway Neighborhood Corp., a nonprofit group that believes redevelopment is the most successful model.

"We don't think that there has been a full determination made that redevelopment and reuse of the building is infeasible," Brown said.

Alternately, commission member Lillian Kuri added, L&R could present a rock-solid proposal for the site. The pictures L&R showed Friday are just possibilities, based on recent inquiries from potential tenants and partners. They're the background noise as L&R tries to make the case that the Herold Building is unsafe and needs to come down -- regardless of what replaces it.

"We're not going to scrape the property and leave it barren," Dix stressed during an interview Thursday. "That's not our intent and interest."

He said L&R is willing to commit, in writing, that the company will not use any part of the land for surface parking. The city prohibits downtown property owners from razing buildings for parking lots, though temporary lots have lingered for years on some potential development sites.

Built in 1906, the Herold Building has been empty for more than a decade and condemned for years. An L&R affiliate bought the glass-fronted building, at 310 Prospect Ave., in 2008 and has been warring with the city over restoration versus redevelopment.

In January, Cleveland Housing Court Judge Raymond Pianka gave L&R until March 15 to start rehabilitation work or demolition of the property. His order came in a summary judgment decision on litigation between the city and L&R.

City officials have said they favor a full redevelopment of that block of downtown, which includes three historic buildings -- the Herold, the Kendel and Record Rendezvous, where the term rock 'n' roll was popularized. But the buildings have three different owners. Nobody has been able to gain control of the entire block. And L&R, after sitting on the Herold Building through the recession and the downtown rebound, believes demolition is the logical solution.

The small building is hazardous and costs too much to repair, Dix said this week. There's the court-imposed deadline, which L&R has not asked Pianka to extend. And, Dix said, the uncertainty and the perception that L&R is in a bind with the city are hurting the company's ability to remake the corner or to find a buyer or co-developer at an attractive price.

Friday's lack of a decision was clearly a setback.

Dix said L&R will spend the next two weeks trying to satisfy the commission's requests, but he doesn't expect the company will be able to line up potential tenants that fast. He wouldn't discuss specific inquiries, though he mentioned a national clothing store and a national media company with sports connections.

"We're going to be exhaustive and explore everything," Dix said after the planning meeting. "At some point, we just want to get a decision and move forward with whatever process we have. This is a political process. I'd almost feel better in a judicial process, where the facts are discerned and it's not as emotional. That would be a better result for us."

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